Struggling Mansfield face a tough trip to Port Vale

Struggling for form Mansfield face a tough trip to Port Vale with the Stags needing a good performance on Saturday.

18th placed Mansfield Town travel to Port Vale in search of a very crucial win that they have been needing for a long time after losing to Cambridge 4-0 on Tuesday night. Port Vale will also look for all three points as they lost 2-0 away from home to league leaders Exeter City.

Team news

Defender Matt Preston will miss the game through suspension following his straight red card against Cambridge on Tuesday night. The centre-back will miss four games through suspension due to the sending off.

Manager John Dempster confirmed that wing-back Hayden White is in contention to feature on Saturday after training this week, returning from a recent knock.

The game will likely come too soon for forwards Nicky Maynard, Craig Davies and Jordan Graham, along with goalkeeper Bobby Olejnik.

Port Vale will be without David Amoo and Callum Evans for the match.

John Askey said that the injuries sustained won’t be used as an excuse for poor results as he is confident in the ability of his squad.

 “We’ve got more than enough to compete, I’m not looking for excuses, the players shouldn’t look for excuses, whoever goes on that pitch has got to show that they want to play for Port Vale.

“Disappointing that we’ve lost so many [players]all at once, but it does give an opportunity to others.

“We’ve got more than enough to compete, that’s all I concern myself with, players who are fit, to make sure they’re right for Saturday’s game.”

Manager John Dempster has said that the players who feature on Saturday will be those who ‘want to stand up and be counted,’ ahead of the Stags’ trip to Port Vale.

“We’re now a solider down, which is disappointing when you’re going into war. We understand there is restlessness around and we understand that we need to pick things up.

“We’re going to play on the front foot [at Port Vale]like we did at Crawley and we’re going to Port Vale to score goals and win a football match.

“The players that want to be stand up and counted will feature on Saturday. It’s going to be interesting to see how people react when there’s adversity, who is going to fight, produce the goods and perform.

“A win [on Saturday]would be brilliant. It sounds obvious, but winning breeds confidence. One of the big differences this year when we’ve under performed is the players not playing with confidence.

Head-to-head

In the last five outings between the two clubs, Mansfield Town have been victorious three times with Port Vale winning one game and one game ending in a 1-1 draw.

Expected line-ups

Port Vale XI– Brown; Crookes, Joyce, Legge, Kennedy; Worrall, Montano, Smith; Taylor, Browne, Bennett.

Mansfield Town XI– Logan; Benning, White, Pearce, Sweeney, Gordon; Bishop, Shaughnessy, MacDonald; Hamilton, Rose.